93. Battle Royale
“Battle Royale” may well be the ultimate cult movie of the decade; for years, there was incredible buzz about it: it was referenced in Quentin Tarantino films and Flaming Lips concerts, but it was impossible to see, outside of secret midnight viewings, illegal bootleg copies, and occasional film festival viewings. There was even a (false) rumor, for a while, that it was banned in the United States.
Nowadays, thanks to the rampant growth of file-sharing websites (legal and otherwise,) it’s not all that hard to see “Battle Royale.” And, amazingly, it lives up to the hype. A gruesome and uber-bloody story about junior high school students thrust into a death game by their teachers, while their parents watch and their government makes money off the broadcasts. Clearly “Battle Royale” has a bit of biting satire for just about every segment of society, and it all feels sharp and timely. In addition, it captures elements of junior high school that feel universal; from drama queens to insecurity cliques to tragic love and BFF pacts. And on top of that, it’s a rocking good action/horror/gore flick, if you’re into that kind of thing.
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.